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Show Wednesday, August ON IE By ANDY LANG AP Newsfeatures rarely will you find a Very really valuable antique at a flea market. But if you do, seek expert advice on it to avoid lessening or destroying its value. Thats the word from design consultants Gene and Katie Hamilton, As one example of what can happen, they call attention to the case of a woman who was lucky enough to buy an antique piece of furniture and unlucky enough to remove its finish, a milk paint that put the item in a certain time period and gave it authenticity and worth. The Hamiltons say the first rule of thumb in looking for used furniture at a flea market is to know what you want. They suggest taking along a small notebook, listing the dimensions of the object you want, the dimensions of the room in which it will be placed (including the doorway through which the piece must be passed) and any other pertinent information. Also, bring along a measuring tape and, if you can, some type camera. Instant photos, they explain, are an excellent frame of instant reference of when youre flea markets and garage sales. Take a photo of hunting each piece youre considering, and jot down below or on the back of it the name and phone number of the person and place selling it, the dimensions of the piece, etc. If you plan to keep on shopping, this helps you compare and bargain better. Alsd, carry cash if you can. Most people running flea markets and garage sales wont accept or credit cards, and more likely to strike a theyre good bargain with you if they see you have the cash in hand and youre seriously ready to checks buy. Another must, they say, is to get up early on the day you plan to shop, and be there before the place opens. You often have to compete with antique and used furniture dealers who shop flea markets, auctions and garage sales for a living. They know exactly what theyre looking for and are there to get the best of the lot at the crack of dawn. In any search for furniture, quality is of major importance, whether the piece is used or not. If you find a piece youre really interested in and it meets your price and design specifications dont buy it before you test it for quality, says Katie. This means inspecting it like an investigator. With a dresser, for example, you should turn it over, look in back, underneath and inside the drawers. If the piece is coated with a dark finish or is painted, looking inside the drawers at the raw wood is especially imthree-draw- er portant. You can tell by looking, she adds, if the piece is made of mismatched wood. If the wood is mismatched, it doesnt mean the piece is no good, but it can mean that youll have to refinish it in a dark shade to hide the variation in grain pattern. Also, check to see how the drawers are constructed, adds Gene. Often, theyre made of thinner wood than the rest of the piece and are more easily subject to warping. Make sure the runners are good and that the drawers slide in and out easily. The Hamiltons, design consultants to Minwax Co., say another important check to make is for water damage. On a dresser or table, a rippling line across the bottom or the legs indicates the piece probably stood in water at some time. (More soon on the interview with the Hamiltons. ) relocating homeowners are faced with a common dilemma : What can be done with those old toasters, lamps, picture frames and clocks, not quite suitable for the new house, but still in much too good condition to be discarded? According to Larry Stein, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Sales for Allied Van Lines, the worlds largest , mover of families, those old household items can easily be disposed of as well as bring a at a fair price garage sale. Garage sales are a way for disposing of unwanted household items, while at the same time generating a little extra family income, says Stein. Theres very little overhead involved in a garage sale. Most families have an abundance of household products they have outgrown and no longer need. Selling them is a sensible option. Pricing is the key to a financially successful garage sale, says Stein. Before setting your prices, visit other garage sales to determine the going rate for certain items, he says. This will give you a good idea of the market value, as well as help you avoid emotional pricing setting too high a price for a particular item because of its emotional or sentimental pre-movi- cost-efficie- nt SECOND This English design house provides a flexible plan variation; the den can be used as a fourth bedroom and the balconey studio also can serve other purposes. There are 1,943 square feet of habitable area on two floors, plus laundry half-timb- items separately through an advertisement in the local newspaper. According to Stein, popular items at garage sales include drinking glasses, picture frames, cooking utensils such as pots and pans, lamps, books and magazines. Although childrens clothes are also popular, mens and womens wear seldom sells, value. Stein also suggest not pricing any object much higher than $75.00. Beds, dressers, cabinets and other large pieces of furniture usually arent big sellers because most people are reluctant to spend that much at a garage sale. Also, few people are prepared to transport large pieces of furniture. It might be wise to sell couches, desks, dining room sets and other large BLOOMINGTON, a housewife vacuumed her rugs in London, the whole neighborhood knew it. When ry The vacuum cleaner, an enormous horse-draw- n affair, pulled up to the house and sucked the dirt out by means of an hose. The contraption was so noisy that it nearly got its owner, Sir Hubert Booth, arrested for creating a public nuisance. 80-fo- ot Ever since people started tracking dirt onto carpets, inventors such as Booth have been looking for ways to remove it, according to researchers at the Eureka Co. here, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. The big question for inventors was whether to get rid of dirt by blowing it away or by sucking it up. The Whirlwind, a sweeping machine using suction and powered by a fan, had been patented in 1859, hand-operat- ed but was unsuccessful. Its problem was that it spat out almost as much dirt as it inhaled. Booth used an original, if unsanitary, method to prove that suction was superior to blowing. He lay on a grimy carpet face down, put a handkerchief over his mouth, and sucked hard. His handkerchief trapped the dirt, showing him that when used with a filter, suction worked.. Others followed quickly Booths lead. Soon, manufacturers with names such as Air Cleaning Company Sanitary Devices Company were turning out pneumatic and apcarpet renovators paratuses for removing dirt. Finally, one firm acquired all the basic patents and called itself the Vacuum Cleaner Company, and the rest of the fledgling industry followed suit. Some of the first vacuum cleaners were more ingenious than effective, the research indicates. One model required one two persons to operate it to pump a bellows with foot pedals and another to apply the nozzle to the floor. Another, the Water Witch, sold for the then princely sum of $75 and had to be placed in the kitchen sink or bathtub before operation. not Electricity, water, brought success to the new product. By 1913, the Eureka Vacuum Cleaner Co. was manufacturing a model with five adaptations for the different types of household electric currents then in use, as well as attachments for bare floors, walls, upholstered furniture and crevices. Manufacturers were quick to point out the advantages of the new electric machines to overburdened American It eats up the housewives. dirt! heralded one 1909 ad. The terrors of the old primitive of way of housecleaning of and down, up tearing ripping endless confusion and toil and all are now drudgery abolished. Electricity made the vacuum cleaner a viable product, and engineering ingenuity made it an affordable one for the average consumer. By 1918, there were so many manufacturers that companies found it necessary to promote their models unique features. To help dealers boost sales, a trade magazine article listed 40 uses for a vacuum cleaner, such as a way to kill ants, clean the dog, dry clothing, kill bees and wasps, dust womens hats and make a lazy hot-aregister Thanks to you... It works... tor ALL OF US 12, 1984 0 quality and unusual items. Be ready for early-bir- d shoppers; they arrive before the checking your homeowners insurance and with local officials to government determine any garage sale restrictions that might apply. over Tonight! The 20s were the decade of as selling, or manufacturers adopted outside sales forces to go out and get One major the business. company had 5,000 door-to-do- or salesmen in 1927. Milestones in vacuum cleaner improvement have included the motor-drive- n brush in the 30s, the tank cleaner in the 40s and the canister in the 50s. From rug beaters to a Royal a variety of vacuums is and carpet sweepers on display in the Home Arts Collection at Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. The collection traces the evolution of technology in the home, covering handwork of colonial times through conveniences of the present. The industry today produces hand vacs and compact vacs, vacs and vacs, and even models with electronic controls to adjust the suction power. These descendants of Hubert Booths n contraption are now in more than 99 percent of all American homes. . Electro-Hygien- two-mot- e, mass-produc- ed self-propell- ed or Your Choice horse-draw- 12-o- z. Cans Carbon County Fair and August 5 thru high pick of the lot. Unless the buyer is a close acquaintance, do not accept personal checks. Price all objects clearly. As a final note, Stein suggests jump. You'll miss a lot if you miss the International Days feature sale opens in order to get the ir door-to-do- 6 pace; Chickering Pianos . . $1,195.00 New Kawai Pianos .$2,095.00 LOW PAYMENTSSIMPLE INTEREST Price Includes delivery in Utah SUMMERHAYS MUSIC CENTER 5450 South Green Street (1 - 15 & 53rd So.), Murray Utah Price or Castle Dale Price Good Wednesday August 1 thru Monday August 6, 1984 AMERICAS FAVORITE FOOD STORE Utah Toll Free .K i d NY 11530. agS marked by sweeping changes and PI AN self-addresse- due to changing styles. Be prepared to bargain with your customers, adds Stein. Few people will pay your asking price. Take this into consideration when pricing. Advertise the sale in local newspapers; noon and garage. For more information on plan HA1270Y, write, enclosing a stamped, envelope, to architects York & Schenke, 226 Sevemth St., Garden City, SAFEWAY Friends coming History of vacuum cleaners (AP) -- Price, Utah 7B As the peak moving season approaches, ...... 111. Sun Advocate, Garage sales are THE MU 1, 1984 n |